What are the main issues that African nations face in forthcoming
negotiations on biotechnology and biosafety?
This policy brief from the International Institute for Sustainable
Development identifies and analyses the challenges African policymakers and
negotiators may face during 2007 international biotechnology and biosafety
negotiations.

The authors, Soledad Aguilar and Elsa Tsioumani, discuss in
particular: the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, where rules on liability
and redress are being formulated; the Convention on Biological Diversity,
dealing with access to genetic resources; and the Global Environment
Facility, where funding negotiations for biosafety initiatives are under
way.

Aguilar and Tsioumani review recent developments in biosafety and
biotechnology policy in Africa, focusing on the frameworks adopted by
African organisations in recent months, including the African Union's
Consolidated Plan of Action on Science and Technology and its Freedom to
Innovate report.

They identify three policy goals that have emerged in Africa:
promoting biotechnology for sustainable development and poverty eradication;
building capacity in biotechnology and biosafety governance; and adopting
science-based biosafety regulations to support food security and economic
growth.

The authors assess the likely impact of international negotiations,
urging African governments to develop common positions and regional
frameworks to present a coherent, coordinated front in these talks.

They highlight the need to choose policy stances that balance Africa's
competing priorities - for example, the continent's interest in preserving
genetic resources while exploiting them and sharing their benefits.

A great deal rides on African nations' ability to play a full and
effective part in multilateral negotiations. Leaders across the continent
must adopt a proactive, pragmatic approach to act in a concerted, timely
manner if they are to make the most of the funding currently available for
biosafety activities.

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